Astronomical dome



no Model.) a SheetsSheet 1 G.-' W. HOU GH 81; W. SGHERZER.

ASTRDNOMIGAL DOME.

No. 416,364. Patented Dec. 3, 1889..

(Nd Model.) 7 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.. G. W. HOUGH & W. SCHERZER.

ASTRONOMIGAL DOME.

No. 416,364. Patented Dec. 3, 1889.

N. PETERS Phukwlhhcgmphur. Wmhinglun. QC.

(No Model.) 7 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. W. HOUGH & W. SOHERZER.

' ASTRONOMIGAL DOME.

4 Patented Dec. 3, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE IV. HOUGH, OF EVANSTON, AND WILLIAM SOHERZER, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

ASTRONOMICAL DOM E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,364, dated December3, 1889. Application filed August 13, 1889. Serial No. 320,635. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GEORGE W. HOUGH, of Evanston, Cook county,Illinois, andWIL- LIAM SOHERZER, of Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements inAstronomical Domes; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theIO accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, which form apart of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in revolving domes forobservatories and similar structures, having reference more especiallyto means for sustaining the weightof the dome, adapted to enable thesame to be turned or rotated easily or by the application of littlepower; to features of construction in the movable shutter or device forclosing the opening or slot in the dome through which observations aremade; to improvements in devices for actuating the dome, and to otherfeatures of such structures, as 2 5 will hereinafter fully appear.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointedout in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating our invention, Figure 1 is aside elevation of the dome and shutter, 'the lower portion of the dome,together with its supporting-wall, being shown in central verticalsection. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of said parts, taken on theindirect line 2 2 of Fig. 1, so as to show the bottom ring of the domein one half of the view and the top of the supporting-wall and thesupporting wheels or rollers in the other half of the same. Fig. 3 is adetail section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 4 through the base-ring of thedome and the top of the supporting-wall, showing one of thesupportingwheels in side elevation with its supportingframe partially insection. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 8, asviewed from the inside of the dome. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectionthrough the bearin gs of one of the supporting-wheels, showing thedetails of construction thereof. Fig. 6 is a side elevation, as Viewedfrom the inside of the dome, of one of the horizontal guidewheels bywhich the dome is held from shifting on its seat. Fig. 7 is a verticalsection of the same, taken upon line 7 7 of Fig. 6. Fig.

8 is a plan view of the shutter and parts supporting the same. Fig. 9 isa rear elevation thereof. Fig. 10 is an elevation showing thesupporting-track for the free end of the shutter and parts adjacent tothe same. Fig. 11

is a cross-section through the shutter and adjacent parts of the domewhen the shutter is 7 closed, taken upon line 11 11 of Fig. 8.

As illustrated in the said drawings, A indicates the dome as a whole,said dome consisting of a hollow metal shell, which is preferably madehemispherical in shape.

B indicates the supporting-wall of the dome, which is circular, as seenin plan view, and of approximately the same diameter as the lower partof the dome, which rests thereon.

A dome for use in connection with the main features of constructionconstituting our invention may be constructed in its details in anywell-known or preferred manner. As herein shown, the dome is made asfollows:

A is a horizontallyarranged base-ring, which forms the main supportingpart or frame-piece of the dome proper. Said basering is formed of aplurality of cast segments a a, which are rigidly secured together, endto end, preferably by bolts, the. ring being made of considerable widthhorizontally and having an approximately-fiat bottom surface andstrengthening ribs or flanges on its upper surface, arranged as clearlyshown in Figs. 2 and 3. The frame of the upper part of the dome consistsof a plurality of curved radially-arranged ribs a a, over which isplaced and secured an external covering or layer of sheet metal A Theframe-ribs a a are se cured to the-outer flange of the base-ring A, anda set of additional vertical ribs a a are secured to the inner flange ofsaid base-ring and extend upward, and are secured at their upper ends tothe main ribs a, thereby act- 5 ing as braces to give additionalrigidity to the dome structure. The weight of the dome is sustained by aplurality of bearing wheels or rollers C C C, which are mounted instationary bearings on the top of the wall B, with Ioo their axes ofrotation arranged radially with reference to the center of motion of thedome, and which are adapted to bear against the under surface of thebase-ring A of the dome. To aiford a smooth and accurate bearing-surfacefor the said rollers, said bearing-ring, as

clearly shown in Fig. 3, is provided 011 its under surface with a broador flat rib a, which is finished on its under surface by planing orotherwise.

Each of the several bearing-wheels C is sustained in a supporting-frameD, having bearings forthe wheels and constructed as follows: D is thebase-plate of the supportingframe, which is provided with twoupwardlyextending arms D D located inside of and outside of thebearing-wheel and provided at their upper ends with bearings D D" forthe journals 0 c, Fig. 5, of the said bearing-wheels. The bearings D maycontain any well-known or desired form of anti-friction device to insurethe easy rotation of the bearing-wheels. As herein shown, said bearingsD are provided with internal cylindric bearing-surfaces considerablylarger than the journals 0 c, and between said journals and the saidbearingsurfaces are placed cylindric anti-friction rollers (Z (Z, whileto take the end thrust of the journals the boxes are provided with. caps(1, within which are formed annular grooves (Z containing one or moreballs or rollers (Z which bear against the ends of the journals and rollaround in said grooves as the journals revolve. For the main purposes ofour invention, however, that form of anti-friction roller-bearingcontaining spheres or balls may be used, or any other form ofanti-friction device may be employed in place of that shown.

The supporting-frail]es for the bearingwheels C, consisting of thebase-plate D and arms D, instead of being aflixed immovably to thesupportingwall B, are adj ustably sustained thereon in such manner thatthe said supportingframes and the bearing-wheels may be moved verticallyas well as shifted in their angular position. The vertical adjustment ofsaid supporting-frames with reference to the supporting-wall is toenable the bearingwheels to be adjusted accurately to the samehorizontal plane; or, in other words, to enable said wheels to beadjusted so that they will carry equally the weight of the dome,notwithstanding any changes which may occur by the wearing of the partsor from other causes. The shifting of the angular position of the saidsupporting-frames and bearingwheels is desirable in order that theperipheral surfaces of said bearing-rollers (which are made slightlyconical, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3) may bebrought to bear accurately on the base-ring A of the dome.

Any one of a great number of well-known devices may be employed forsecuring the vertical adjustment of the said supportingframes or theroller bearings; but we have herein shown a form of adjusting device forthis purpose which we have found to be advantageous in practice, andwhich forms part of our invention. Such adjusting device is made asfollows: E is a bearing-plate placed upon the top of the supporting-wallB, beneath the bottom plate D of the supportingframe D, and e e areset-screws inserted through the plate D and bearing at their lower endsagainst the said plate E beneath it. Said set-screws serve to sustainthe weight of the supporting-frames and bearing-wheels, together withthe dome resting thereon, and by turning the same up or down saidsupporting-frames may be raised and lowered, either at their inner orouter parts, or both, as may be found necessary or desirable inadjnsting the vertical and angular position of the wheels.

\Ve have herein shown each supportingframe as provided with fourset-screws e e e 6, two at the inner and two at the outer part thereof;but similarly-acting set-screws may be otherwise disposed, as foundconvenient or desirable.

For holding or clamping the supporting frames rigidly in place afterthey have been Vertically adjusted by the use of the set screws c 6,other bolts e e are employed, which are preferably arranged in alignmentwith the bearingace of the wheel, pass through the plates D and E, andengage nuts secured in the supporting-wall, said bolts being providedwith heads which bear against the said plateD in the manner illustratedin Fig. 3. By turning said bolts 6 6 down against the plate D, aft-erthe position of the bearing-wheels has been properly adjusted by meansof the set-screws e e, the bearing-wheels will be held rigidly fromhorizontal or other movement.

For convenience in construction of the parts, each nut 6 consists of atube embedded vertically in the supporting-wall and provided with aninternal screw-thread to engage with the lower end of the bolt 8, saidtube being provided at its lower part with a transverse pin orcross-piece 6 which prevents the tube being drawn upwardly out of: thewall.

Means for holding the dome centrally in position are provided, asfollows: F F F indicate a plurality of horizontally arrangedguide-rollers, which are supported from the retaining-wall inside of thebase-ring A of the dome and which bear against an annularbearing-surface a formed on said base-ring. Said bearing-rollers aremounted in brackets G G, which are attached at their lower ends to thesupporting-wall B and extend upwardly to a point opposite the saidbase-ring A, said brackets G G being provided with connecting-pieces orcross-girts G G, located above and below the said bearing-roller F andhaving bearing-boxes g g for the journals of said roller. Saidbearing-boxes are preferably provided with an ti-friction rollersarranged in the samemanner as the corresponding parts shown in Fig.5 andhereinbefore described. The brackets G G are herein shown as arrangedvertically and as attached to the wall by means of a horizontal plate Gwhich is bolted to the top of the wall and extends inwardly beyond thesame, and to which said brackets GG are connected by means ofangle-pieces g g, said brackets being afforded a strong and rigidconnection with the wall by being secured to the face of the wall at apoint considerably below said plate by means of bolts 9 inserted throughthe lower parts of the brackets and into the wall. As a separate andfurther improvement, said base-ring A is provided with aninwardly-extending flange a upon which the bearing-surface a is formed,and the brackets G G are provided with overhanging arms or projectionsG3 G which extend over said flange a preferably without touching thesame, and act as a safety device to prevent the possibility of the domebeing lifted from the bearing-wheels by strong winds.

Devices for turning the dome by hand are provided, asfollows: H is agear-wheel located between two of the supporting-wheels O C, and mountedin a supporting-frame H, constructed in the same manner as thesupporting-frames D of the bearing-wheels. Said gear-wheel is adapted toengage a curved rack H attached to or formed upon the lower surface ofthe base-ring A, as clearly shown I in Figs. 3 and t. Said gear-wheel His mount- .with a sprocket wheel 11*.

edge of the dome.

ed upon a shaft H which extends through the journal-bearing inwardlypast the inner face of the supporting-wall B and is provided Around saidsprocket-wheel H is placed an endless chain Hiwhich passes over achain-pulley H, about one-third the size of the upper one, and locatedat a point near the floor of the apartment covered by the dome. By meansof a crank on the pulley H the wheel H and gearwheel H may beeasilyturned, as desired, thereby enabling the dome to be rotated tobring the slot or opening therein to any desired point.

For the purpose of making a close joint between the lower edge of thedome and the top of the supporting-wall B the following construction isemployed: B is an annular metal flange or plate attached to the saidwall 13 outside of the bearing-wheels v and extending upwardly therefromto a point near the lower A is a similar metal flange attached to theouter part of the base-ring A.

; and extending downwardly outside of and overlapping the said flangeB'.In the particular construction herein shown, Fig. 3, the flange B isarranged flush with the outer surface of the supporting-wall, andinasmuch as the outer margin of the base-ring is smaller in diameterthan the said flange B the flange A is therefore extended outward overthe top of the said flange B and then downward, in the mannerillustrated.

In observatory-domes as heretofore constructed the dome itself hascommonly been provided with a deep depending flange or apron extendingdownwardly, so as to surround and protect the anti-friction wheels orrollers which support the dome. Such deep flange adds much to the weightof thedome and increases, therefore, the difficulty of turning it, aresult which is avoided in the construction herein illustrated, for thereason that the weight of the flange B, which forms the main part of thewall surrounding the supporting-wheels, is carried by the wall, and thedome is required to support only the weight of the relatively narrow andlight flange A which overlaps the top of the same.

I indicates a-swinging shutter by which the slot or opening in the topof the dome is closed to exclude the weather, and which is ad apted tobe shifted to one side of said slot for open-. ing the latter at thetime of making observations. Said shutter consists of a suitablesheeting or covering applied to a frame I, which extends entirely overthe dome and is mounted at its'end remote from the opening or slot on avertical pivot located near the base of the dome, while at its oppositeend, or that nearest the slot, it is provided with wheels or rollers JJ, which rest upon a horizontal track J, and thereby sustains the weightof the free or movable end of the shutter. The said frame 1' of theshutter is herein shown as consisting of two bars 2 i, which areparallel throughout the length of the shutter proper, or that part whichcomes opposite or over the slot in the dome, and are converged orbrought together from the upper end of said shutter proper to the pointat which they are pivotally connected with the dome. The space betweensaid frame-bars opposite the slot or opening is covered by a strip orlayer i of sheet metal, Figs. 8 and 11, while that part of the framebetween the upper end of the slot or opening and the pivot of the frameconsists simply of an open frame-work consisting'of the frame-pieces t"t" and suitable cross-bracing, as illustrated in the drawings.

The pivotal support for the shutter constitutes an important part of ourinvention, and is made as follows: I is a journal bearing or pivotarranged vertically and attached to the lower end or point of theshutter-frame I. Said journal bearing or pivot is mounted in a bearingK, which is secured to the base-ring A of the dome, Figs. 1, 8, and 9.Said bearing K, in the particular construction illustrated, is sustainedat some distance from the base-ring by means of a bracket is, bolted tothe said base-ring in the manner illustrated. I is another verticaljournal bearing or pivot attached to the shutter-frame I, above and inalignment with the journal-bearing I. Said journal or pivot I is engagedwith a bearing L, which is rigidly sustained from the frame of the domeby means of suitable arms or brackets, (herein shown as consisting oftwo inclined braces L L',) which are secured at their upper ends to saidbearing and are attached at their lower ends to the base-ringA'conveniently by means of brackets L bolted to said base-ring in themanner illustrated, Fig. 8. The two bearings K and L, arranged at aconsiderable distance vertically one from the other in the manner shown,hold the shut ter in an upright position while allowing the free end ofthe same to be easily moved or shifted. The employment of two bearings,furthermore, insures steadiness in the shutter when the same issubjected to high winds or storms.

The track J for the supporting-rollers J J at the free or swinging endof the shutter is sustained from the dome, preferably by means ofbrackets j j, extending outwardly from the base-ring of the dome, saidtrack being curved or bent to a circle the center of which is coincidentwith the vertical pivot of the shutter. The wheels or rollers J J whichrun upon said track are conveniently mounted in bracketsj j, which aresecured to and extend outwardly from the sides of the shutter I, Fig.10. To prevent possibility of the shutter being lifted by strong winds,safety-clips j are permanently secured to the brackets j j, and extendpartially around the track J in such manner that they will come incontact with the track and arrest the upward movement of the shutter incase the same is lifted by the force of the wind from its normalposition.

Devices by 'wh ich the shutter may be moved or shifted from the insideof the building are shown in Fig. 8, and constructed as follows: M is ahorizontal shaft mounted radially in the lower part of the dome,adjacent to the lower end of the shutter I. Said shaft is provided witha spool or Windlass m and wit-l1 a grooved pulley m, on which is placedan endless band or rope m. N N are two ropes or cables which are bothwrapped around the spool m and, passing around two guide-pulleys n n onthe lower, part of the dome, and two other pulleys n n on the track J,are secured at their ends to the lower part of the shutter I. lVhen theshaft M and the Windlass are turned by the use of the rope m, the cableN will be wound upon the Windlass at one end and unwound from the sameat its other end, thereby drawing the shutter laterally in eitherdirection, according to the direction in which the shaft is turned. Theshaft and other parts being mounted on the dome turn with the same, whenthe dome is rotated, the rope m, which hangs down within thesupporting-wall, being at all times within the reach of the operator onthe floor of the observing-room, while being free to move or swingaround with the dome.

In Fig. 11, which illustrates the construction of the shutter andadjacent part of the dome, O is an angleiron which extends around theopening or slot of the dome, and is bolted to the outer covering Athereof, and which extends inwardly or downwardly and is attached to theradial frame-ribs where the latter intersect the same. 0' is anoutwardly-extending flange extending around the said slot or opening andupwardly or outwardly therefrom, to protect the hole or slot from theentrance of water running down or over the roof. Thelongitudinalframe-pieces i "i of the shutter are located outside of or above theflange 0, so that one of said framepieces will pass over said flange inclosing and opening the shutter. One of said framepieces is providedwith a downwardly or inwardly extending metal strip or flange 0 whichreaches nearly to the covering A of the dome in such manner as to comeagainst or overlap the flange 0 when the shutter is closed. Any suchflange is absent on the opposite or rear side of the shutter in orderthat the frame-piece i may pass freely over the said flange O. O is ametal strip or flange located at the side of the opening or slot of thedome toward which the shutter moves in closing the same, the flangebeing provided with a laterally-bent part or flange 0 parallel with thesurface of the dome, within or under which the edge of the shutterpasses when the same is closed. The overlapping flanges on the dome andshutterserve to efiectually exclude rain from the slot.

Observatory domes as commonly constructed are arranged to rest on aplurality of traveling rollers, which move on tracks or ways on both thesupporting-wall and dome and have hearings in a live or moving ring, orin a series of connected trucks. In a supporting device thus constructedthe rolling friction arising from the use of two sets of tracks,combined with the friction due to the turning of the rollers in theirbearings, produces an amount of resistance which renders adome thussustained much more difficult to turn than one made as herein shown.

The use of stationary bearing-wheels provided with anti-frictionbearings and acting on an annularbearin g surface or way on the dome is,as far as we know, novel, and a construction embracing these features isherein claimed as part of our invention.

\Ve claim as our invention- 1. The combination, with a circularsupporting-wall, of a revolving dome provided with a horizontal annularbearing-surface at its lower edge, and a plurality of supportingwheelsmounted in stationary and vertically adjustable bearings upon said walland engaging the said annular bearin -surface of the dome, substantiallyas described.

2. The combination, with a circular supporting-wall, of a revolving domeprovided with a horizontal annular bearingsurface at its lower edge, aplurality of supporting-wheels engaging the said annular bearing-surfaceof the dome, and supporting-frames for the said wheels provided withbearings for the wheels and having vertically-adj ustable attachment tothe said supportiiigqvall, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a circular supporting-wall, of a revolving domeprovided with a horizontal annular bearing-surface at its lower edge, aplurality of supporting-wheels engaging the said annular bearing-surfaceof the dome, and supporting-fram es for the said wheels provided withbearings for the wheels, said supportingframes being supported upon thewall by means affording both vertical and angular adjustment of thesame, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a circular supporting-wall, of a revolving domeprovided with a horizontal annular bearing-surface at its lower edge, aplurality of supporting-wheels engaging the said annular bearing-surfaceof the dome, and supporting-frames for the said wheels provided withbearings for the wheels and having vertically-adjustable attachment tothe said supporting-Wall, and means for adjustably sustaining the saidframes upon the wall, comprising setscrews inserted through the frameand bearing against the wall, and bolts engaging the said frame and thewall, substantially as described.

' 5. The combination, with a circular supporting-wall, of a revolvingdome provided with a horizontal annular bearing-surface at its loweredge and an inner annular bearingsurface, of a plurality ofsupporting-wheels mounted in stationary bearings upon the said wall andengaging the horizontal annular bearing-surface of the dome, and aplurality of guide-rollers mounted uponthe wall and engaging the saidinner bearing-surface, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a dome provided with a slot or opening in itstop, of a shutter having a frame reaching from one side of the dome tothe other over the top of the same, two pivots arranged vertically inalignment with each other at some distance apart and connecting one endof said shutter-frame with the dome, and a supporting-track at theopposite end of the shutter-fram e, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a dome provided with a slot or opening and anexternal shutter therefor, provided with a frame extending from side toside of the dome, said frame bein g provided with twovertically-arranged pivots located one above the other, a bearing forthe lowermost pivot located near the lower edge of the dome, andabearing for the uppermost pivot sustained from the dome by braces orbrackets, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with a dome provided with a slot or opening and anexternal shutter therefor, provided with a frame extending from side toside of the dome, said frame being pivotedat one end to the dome, atrack sustaining the opposite end of the shutter, and means foractuating the shutter, comprising a rope or cable attached to oppositesides of the shutter, guide-pulleys therefor, and a windlass about whichboth ends of said cable are wound, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with a dome provided with a slot or opening, and anexternal shutter therefor, provided with a frame extending from side toside of the dome, said frame being pivoted at one end to the dome, atrack sustaining the opposite end of the shutter, and means foractuating the shutter, comprising a rope or cable attached to oppositesides of the shutter, guide-pulleys therefor, a Windlass aboutwhich bothends of said cable are wound, a rope-pulley attached to the windlass,and a rope passing over the pulley for turning the same, substantiallyas described.

In testimony that we '01 aim the foregoing as our invention we affix oursignatures in pres ence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. HOUGH. VILLIAM SCHERZER.

Witnesses:

C. CLARENCE PooLE, HARRY COBB KENNEDY.

